Thursday, November 17, 2011

This and That

"Pumpkin Pie" is coming right along.  It is a fun use of colors and pattern (checks & stripes).  I think that I'll be able to post it as a finish on Thanksgiving Day.

Now Some Sad News
On Monday morning I found a dead male Quail near our house.  I would be surprised if the cats got it, if only because they've not been outside much the past several days.  Nor did they haul it to our doorstep as they normal do their "presents".  But it does not appear that a hawk got it either - I'd expect to see lots of stray feathers in the area from that kind of attack...and not find a body.  The biggest bummer is that I've not seen a Quail since Sunday evening.  Early on (2006-2009) the Quail disappeared during late Autumn and then returned in the Spring. The last couple of years though, they have been present year-around.  And after just 48 hours AWOL, I miss them!  I don't know if there is a correlation between the deceased Quail and their disappearance.  We did have ALOT of Hawk activity in the three preceding days, maybe they decided to move to more forested and safer ground. 

Our Mallards are still around though.  I got a decent shot as they flew to their favorite pond one morning.  I'm now guessing these guys are year-around residents. 

Here are a couple of the Hawks that have been hanging about.
A Red-Tailed Hawk.

And a smaller, but more aggressive Cooper's Hawk.

3 comments:

  1. Oh, that is worrisome. I'm hoping for a good ending to this story.

    Bobbi

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  2. That's a pity Beth, I hope they return soon. Your design looks great, I love the colours.

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  3. Your pumpkin is coming along nicely ~ I like the colors.
    That is a shame about the Quail. I've heard that crows will change their migration patterns to avoid a field where another crow was killed. Hopefully your Quail will come back.

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Thank you all. I appreciate that you've read my blog and are taking the time to comment.